CHAPTER 3
Lynne
RIDICULOUS! THIS WHOLE SITUATION was utterly and completely barbaric. My shoes made angry sounds as I stomped through the hallways of the palace. I’d just come from my mother, where she had requested my presence with the Court.
She never requested my presence. If she had her way I’d be locked away in a tower only brought out for special occasions. I sometimes wondered why she even bothered to have me at all.
Any other time I’d have been overjoyed to go to court but this time I’d have rather stuck my head in the dirt. Not only did she want to talk about my upcoming marriage, but also she had to ask in front of everyone if I was prepared to do my wifely duties. She might as well have asked if I was ready to spread my legs for a complete stranger rather than being coy about it. The whole court had laughed at my blushing face either way.
If she wanted me to be prepared, she shouldn’t have kept me so cooped up all these years. The only experience I had with men and sex were from books and the stories my best friend Erydesa told me.
Unlike me, she could do what she liked and when she liked, which she took full advantage of by sleeping her way through most of the royal court. Fae weren’t prudes by any means, but to someone like me that wasn’t even allowed to be alone with a male, it seemed a bit extreme.
Even when she retold the tales of her nightly and sometimes even daily activities, I couldn’t help but be in awe of her and the whole aspect of sex. Some of the things she has had done to her or have done to others made me laugh and blush. Who used feathers as a way to get in the mood? And being tied down? I couldn’t imagine ever giving up that much control to someone else.
The thought of what my future husband might like crept up, but I quickly shook it off. I didn’t care what he liked. I wasn’t marrying him. I’d sooner die.
My face settled into a firm determination as I made my feet start toward the library. Rounding a corner I bumped into a hard chest and almost lost my footing. Large hands grabbed me before I hit the ground and a familiar chuckle filled my ears.
“Pardon me, your highness.” Bastian, Erydesa’s twin brother, grinned at me. His hair was almost as white as my own, but his blue eyes were more of a muddy blue. He and Erydesa had the same position on sex and dressed to show off their assets. Having grown up with Bastian, the first time he started going without a shirt my face had heated to volcanic levels. Then when he had pierced his nipples I couldn’t look at him for days.
My eyes went to the glinting jewels on his chest and my face heated. I forced my eyes to look to the side causing Bastian to laugh. Miffed at being laughed at I pulled away from him and smoothed my dress down. “What are you doing here Ba—Jewels,” I caught myself before I called him by his real name. These nicknames were really irritating though I didn’t need to ask why Bastian had decided to go by Jewels.
Not mentioning my slip up, Bastian moved back into my personal space. “I wanted to check on you of course.”
“Why?”
“Well, you know, after what happened in court I thought you might need a shoulder to cry on.” He picked up a piece of my hair and twirled it between his fingers. I had the sudden urge to wash it again. It was no secret that Bastian wanted me. He’d come on to me enough times I would think he’d take the hint that I wasn’t interested. Unfortunately, he was one of the few males my mother let me be around. If all the other males were like him I wasn’t sure I wanted get to know them.
“I’m all right,” my lips twisted, and I slowly withdrew from his touch and added, “But thanks for your concern.”
I moved around him and resumed my path to the library where I hoped to drown myself in some ancient literature. Bastian, on the other hand, couldn’t take the hint, as usual. I rolled my eyes as his footsteps echoed mine.
“Did you need something else?” I asked, my eyes forward hoping if I was dismissive enough he’d leave me be.
We came up on one of my favorite hiding spots and without a word, Bastian grabbed my hand and pulled me into the darkened corner.
Struggling against his hands, confusion filled my face. “What the hell?”
Bastian’s hand straddled either side of my shoulders as he leered at me. “Come on, your highness. Let’s not pretend any longer.”
“Pretend what?” I raised a brow at him.
“That there isn’t some kind of attraction between us.” One of his hands came up to stroke the side of my face and I flinched away from him. “Your mother has a point.”
“What?” Anger overwhelmed my disgust. My mother was never right.
“You need to be prepared. You aren’t like my sister and I. You are delicate. Innocent.” He plucked at the collar of my dress, and I shoved his hand away. Bastian sighed and dropped his hands. “I’m just trying to say that we are counting on you to make this alliance work, and that means you need to keep that UnSeelie bastard happy.”
“Keep him happy?” I exclaimed. “What about keeping me happy?” But it was like I wasn’t even speaking.
Bastian grabbed me by the hips and pressed himself against me. “That’s where I can help you.”
“Help me do what exactly?”
“Help you learn how to please him, of course.” Bastian ground against me, letting me feel the hardness between his thighs. “Don’t you want your first time to be special? For the one who takes you to be someone you know? Not with some stranger who doesn’t give a shit about you other than to gain power?”
Having had enough I conjured up some of my magic and shoved at him, forcing him off me. Bastian’s eyes widened, and he lost his balance causing him to crash to the floor. My lips formed a tight smile as I stared down at him.
“Now let me help you, Jewels,” I scowled, “I am High Fae, and while I might be inexperienced in some areas of the world, I am also the daughter of one the most powerful Fae in the whole Underground. No one will be taking me.” I turned away from him but then paused and glanced over at him still sprawled out on the ground. “And for the record, it would never be you. Never.”
The sound of Bastian’s cursing was music to my ears as I stomped away. Help me? I snorted. If anyone needed help, it’d be that UnSeelie Prince. He didn’t know what he was getting into, and if I had my way, he’d be the one eating out of the palm of my hand. Not the other way around.